There is already known from patent document FR 2 633 164 a bracelet including an inner chain made up of articulated links on which are strung decorative elements.
The links of the chain each include a central part from which two lateral arms extend and are coupled among themselves by a hinge arrangement which includes insertion of the central part of the link between the arms of the following link. The central part and the arms of each link are provided with holes intended to receive connection pins which pivotally couple the links one after the other. Furthermore, the bracelet includes a plurality of decorative elements arranged side by side strung on the inner chain and partially surrounding this latter. The connection axes project from the two lateral sides of the inner chain and cooperate with cross-piercings provided in the lateral parts of the decorative elements in order to retain or block the decorative elements on the inner chain. The blocking of the decorative elements on the inner chain prevents any displacement of the elements relative to the chain so that one avoids any articulation problem.
Although the construction of the retaining or blocking means of the decorative elements on the inner chain with the help of the connection axes is itself effective, it nevertheless exhibits certain difficulties.
Effectively, making cross-piercings in the decorative elements practically excludes the possibility of choosing hard materials such as ceramic which is presently very much in fashion, if one does not wish to increase the price of the bracelet in a prohibitive manner in performing costly machining or moulding operations on the decorative elements.
Furthermore, such piercings remain exteriorly visible following assembly of the bracelet and spoil the general appearance of the bracelet which goes against the generally sought-after purpose in the manufacture of bracelets, that is to say, to render the bracelet as attractive as possible for the consumer.
The invention thus has as purpose to overcome the difficulties of the above-mentioned prior art in providing a design of bracelet with links including decorative elements which in particular enables utilization of hard materials for forming the decorative elements without increasing considerably the cost price of the bracelet on the one hand and without spoiling the attractiveness of the appearance on the other hand.
To this end, the invention has as objective a bracelet including an inner chain made up of articulated links extending in a longitudinal direction, each link including a central part from which two lateral arms project and said links being coupled together by a hinge arrangement which includes insertion of the central part of a link between the arms of the following link, said central part and said arms being provided with holes for receiving pins pivotally coupling said links one after the other, said bracelet further including a plurality of decorative elements arranged side by side, strung onto the inner chain and at least partially surrounding such latter, and blocking means for each decorative element relative to the inner chain.